Is your hairline starting to creep higher and higher up on your head? Do you notice thinning patches of hair that weren’t there before? If so, you might be starting to experience hair loss.
While hair loss is a nightmare for many people, it’s quite common in both men and women. So common, in fact, that 85% of men experience some form of balding by the time they turn 50.
Luckily, cosmetic surgery has come a long way. Today, people experiencing hair loss have many options, one of which is an FUE hair transplant.
Today we’re going to examine exactly what that is, as well as why a hair transplant might be the right choice for you.
Read on to learn all about what to expect from a follicular unit extraction hair transplant.
What Is a FUE Hair Transplant?
FUE stands for follicular unit extraction. This is one of the newest types of hair transplants that doctors have developed to help prevent and stop hair loss.
In an FUE hair transplant, doctors take individual hair follicles from one area of your head or body and transplant them onto another. Most of the time, they move hair follicles from the back of your head to places where your hair is starting to thin.
If you don’t have any healthy or strong hair left, then an FUE hair transplant might not work. Doctors need a healthy patch of hair for the transplant to work.
What Does the Process Look Like?
FUE hair transplants help treat baldness. Contrary to what some people may think, baldness isn’t when your hair falls out, and it also doesn’t usually happen overnight.
Our hair constantly falls out throughout the day and night. However, at a certain point, the regrowth process begins to slow. In certain individuals, it stops altogether.
An FUE hair transplant replaces hair follicles that no longer grow hair with ones that do. Once the procedure is complete, blood vessels will nourish the new hair follicles, and hair will grow back where it once didn’t.
FUE Hair Transplant Cost
Given that FUE hair transplants (and hair transplants in general) are a newer type of cosmetic surgery, they aren’t as cheap as many people might hope.
You can end up paying anywhere between $4,000-15,000 for a single session.
Some of the factors that affect that price include:
- The amount of hair you need to extract and transplant
- The number of surgeons in your area
- How skilled the one you see is
Unfortunately, most insurance companies don’t help cover the cost of hair transplants. However, it’s still a great idea to at least consider a hair transplant. The results are permanent and priceless!
FUE Vs. FUT
FUT stands for follicular unit transplantation. This is another common type of hair transplant. However, although the result may look similar to that of an FUE hair transplant, FUT transplants come with less appealing side effects.
Most patients end up with a scar on the back of their heads that never goes away. On top of that, FUT hair transplants sometimes resemble hair plugs—where the transplanted hair looks different than that around it.
Because of these caveats, most experts today favor the FUE method.
How to Prepare
To ensure that your procedure goes off without a hitch, there are some things you’ll want to do (and not do!) beforehand. Here are some of the biggest ones:
- Avoid drinking alcohol for a few days before the surgery
- Don’t smoke the day before
- Don’t cut your hair right before the surgery
- Avoid taking vitamins beforehand
- Apply any medication or topical cream your surgeon asks you to use
- Start massaging your scalp each day for a few weeks before your surgery
Doing all of this can help ensure that you’re ready for the big day.
What to Expect
Because surgeons are extracting individual hair follicles and transplanting them back into another part of your head, an FUE hair transplant can last a while. Depending on how much hair you’re looking to grow back, the process can take up to eight hours.
The good news is that recovery is quick. You might have a bit of swelling for a few days after your surgery, but this should subside quickly.
If you don’t work from home, you might want to take a few weeks off or ask to work remotely. You don’t want to exert yourself after the procedure.
Expect to see new hair growing back around three to four months later.
Are There Side Effects?
With an FUE hair transplant, you don’t have to worry about scars or other telltale signs of operation. The most you’ll notice are some white dots where the surgeons removed the hair follicles. These aren’t permanent, however, and should fade with time.
Side effects aren’t common, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Speak to your doctor or surgeon if you experience one or more of the following:
- Hair that doesn’t grow back
- Pain
- Bleeding
- New hair that doesn’t resemble the hair around it
Your doctor should be able to help you through any of the less common side effects without a problem.
A New, More Confident You
No matter what stage of the hair loss journey you’re currently in, it’s never too late to try and make a change. An FUE hair transplant can help get you results you didn’t know possible.
As this guide explains, FUE hair transplants are safe, and above all, effective. Do some research to find a surgeon near you who can help get your hair and confidence back.
Are you looking to learn more about the different types of hair transplants? If you are, make sure to check out the rest of our site for more beauty-related guides and tips.
